"Good Timin’" is a song written by brothers Brian and

Carl Wilson Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian and Dennis, and the group's ''de ...

for the American rock band

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

. It was the second single released from the album ''

L.A. (Light Album) ''L.A. (Light Album)'' is the 23rd studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on March 16, 1979, and their first issued through CBS Records. Recorded during a period of acrimony between the band members, it was a critical an ...

'' (1979); the B-side was "Love Surrounds Me".

Recording

The track was initiated during the group's sporadic sessions at

Brother Studios Brother Studios (later renamed Crimson Sound) was the name of a recording studio located at 1454 5th St, Santa Monica, California established by brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, co-founders of the Beach Boys. History Brother Studios ...

and Caribou Ranch during 1974, with Brian contributing on the piano and harpsichord. The basic track was completed and Carl Wilson recorded the lead vocals. Initially intended for release on their next album, ''

15 Big Ones ''15 Big Ones'' is the 20th studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released July 5, 1976 on Brother/Reprise. It includes a mix of original songs and renditions of rock 'n' roll and R&B standards. The LP was the band's first albu ...

'', it ultimately remained unreleased until 1979. Due to the negative reception following the release of the Beach Boys' unconventional disco remake of " Here Comes the Night", "Good Timin'" was hastily assembled with necessary vocal overdubs by Carl Wilson and Bruce Johnston and released as a single. Johnston recalled: I'm not putting Al down or Mike but the real soldier who stuck with me the whole time was Carl. The two us sang the verses on 'Good Timin, the two of us sang the four vocal parts." It was the lead track on their subsequent ''L.A. (Light Album)'', which was released later that year.

Live performances

"Good Timin'" was performed live on tours throughout the early 1980s following its release. Brian sang the lead vocals during The 50th Reunion Tour with Al Jardine also on vocals filling in for Carl Wilson.

Charts

"Good Timin'" reached No. 40 in the U.S. during a stay of ten weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart; and peaked at No. 33 on the ''Cash Box'' sales chart. It was their first single to reach the Top 40 portion of the chart since " It's OK" in October 1976. It also reached No. 12 on the ''Billboard''

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart.

Personnel

Sourced from sessionography archivist Craig Slowinski.http://beachboysarchives.com/page12

Good Timin'

;The Beach Boys *

– lead and backing vocals, guitars *

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

– piano, harpsichord, organ * Dennis Wilson – drums * Bruce Johnston – backing vocals,

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys with his cousins Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson and their friend Al Jardine. Characterized by his nasal tenor and occasional bass-bari ...

– backing vocals * Al Jardine – backing vocals ;Additional personnel *

Jim Guercio James William Guercio (born July 18, 1945) is an American music producer, musician, songwriter, and director. He is well known for his work as the producer of Chicago's early albums as well as early recordings of The Buckinghams and Blood, Sweat ...

– bass

Love Surrounds Me

;The Beach Boys * Dennis Wilson – lead, harmony and backing vocals, Fender Rhodes, Oberheim and Moog synthesizers, additional drums,

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionall ...

, arrangements *

– backing vocals * Bruce Johnston - backing vocals ;Additional personnel * Christine McVie – backing vocals * Ed Carter – electric lead and rhythm guitars *

Neil Levang Neil is a masculine name of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. ...

–

dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally ...

during closing vamp * Joe Chemay – bass *

Carli Muñoz Carli Muñoz, better known as Carli Munoz (full name: Carlos C. Muñoz; born October 16, 1948), is a self-taught Puerto Rican jazz and rock pianist, best known for touring with the Beach Boys in the 1970s. Biography Although born and raised in Sa ...

– grand piano * Phil Shenale – Oberheim synthesizer during closing vamp * Bobby Figueroa – drums * Steve Forman –

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

mark tree A mark tree (also known as a nail tree, chime tree, or set of bar chimes) is a percussion instrument used primarily for musical colour. It consists of many small chimes—typically cylinders of solid aluminium or hollow brass tubing 3/8" in di ...

bell tree A bell tree, also known as tree bellsBeck, John. ''Encyclopedia of Percussion.'' Taylor and Francis, 1995. or Chinese bell tree (often confused with the mark tree), is a percussion instrument, consisting of vertically nested inverted metal bowl ...

, cabasa during closing vamp

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Good Timin' (Beach Boys Song) 1979 singles The Beach Boys songs Songs written by Brian Wilson Songs written by Carl Wilson Song recordings produced by James William Guercio Song recordings produced by Bruce Johnston